Google, Meta Lose Landmark Social Media Addiction Trial in Industry's Worst Verdict in 25 Years
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 7
Google, Meta Lose Landmark Social Media Addiction Trial in Industry's Worst Verdict in 25 Years
2 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 7
Summary
Kaley Glenn-Mills, now the named plaintiff in K.G.M. v. Meta et al., won the first trial selected from thousands of lawsuits alleging social media platforms addict children by design.
The verdict against Google and Meta was described as the most damaging to the social media industry in 25 years, making the case a major test of claims targeting Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat.
At 17, Glenn-Mills feared less the courtroom scrutiny than losing her accounts, underscoring the dependence at the center of the case even as the companies she sued kept her as a user.
The ruling gives early shape to sprawling nationwide litigation over whether major platforms engineered products to maximize youth engagement despite harm.